idpa classifications

[RM]

For someone who is a decent shooter but new to idpa, how difficult is it to move from novice to marksman? How about from marksman to sharpshooter? Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Taipei Personality]

In my experience, the move from novice to marksman is meteoric, from marksman to sharpshooter is fast, from sharpshooter to expert takes focus, and from expert to master takes a while and a lot of practice.

[Jim Watson]

Note that there is no Classifier range of scores for Novice. Novice just means "less than Marksman" no matter how poor a shot. It is the classification for people who jump into IDPA with little shooting experience.
A "decent shooter" should score Marksman the first time out if he can follow instructions. Maybe the second if he has to get familiarized with the Classifer.
Ought to make Sharpshooter in his first or second season of regular shooting as he learns the rules, procedures, and techniques.
Expert class means expert shooting. That takes real skill and can take a while to move up.
Master? I dunno, I haven't gotten there and doubt I will. Age is creeping up and it seems that I am learning stuff just fast enough to balance out the deterioration.

[CZ52GUY]

I started this past April, shot my first Classifier in May.

Match 1 was a local match, finished among the Marksman as an Unclassified.

Match 2 was the Classifier (practiced a few days before and missed Marksman by a few points). Shot the Classifier as a high Marksman score.

Took an Intro' to IDPA class 2 weeks later that included shooting the Classifier. Very minor improvement to Marksman score. However, Classifier stages were intertwined within the 8 hour class.

2 days later, I shot a Classifier match at a different club and made Sharpshooter by a few points.

I practice weekly and have competed monthly since then...every so often throwing in a "practice classifier". I haven't been able to move very far off June Sharpshooter results. I attribute this to:

1) Not always easy to be your own RO...working timer, taping, recording scores, etc. Much easier to shoot the Classifier when someone else is running you through and you can simply concentrate on being the shooter.

2) While best scores per string have significantly improved, I haven't been able to "put it all together" in a single "practice classifier".


I have been able to consistently shoot with the Sharpshooters in the local matches the past couple months. Expert does seem to be a "season two" goal at best. We have a big regional coming up...hoping for middle of the pack Sharpshooter results for my first regional.

The biggest changes from "bench shooting" or informal recreational shooting are covered in my "IDPA Rookie Ramblings" post shown here.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91396

Good luck and safe shooting,

CZ52'

[jdege]

I've shot IDPA once. A local club was running a qualifier.

I'd never shot IDPA before, I've never shot since (though I intend to, once certain distractions in my life become less distracting).

I used my CZ85 in Stock Service, did everything wrong, and finished at with a Marksman rating.

[cop car]

Been shooting IPSC style matches for about a year with the USPSA (limited, B). Started shooting IDPA to fill in the gaps between matches. First match was a regular local club match with about 20 shooters. Figured out I would be shooting in the CDP (custom defense pistol) class. Finished first in class and third overall. Second match was the classifier. Missed expert by a second and some change (like 1.45 or something like that). But to clarify myself to some of the guys who will be reading this and saying "yeah, right" I did grow up on a large farm/ranch in East Texas shooting rifles, shotguns, and pistols almost every day, and had a great teacher (thanks, dad). So I would be of the opinion (and everybody knows about those) that your background matters. That, and I just plain hate to lose!:neener:

[Ankeny]

cop car:

I wouldn't have been suprised if you went Expert or Master (IDPA) first time out being a Limited B shooter.